[center][h3][color=39b54a]- Peggy Atkinson -[/color][/h3][/center]

Peggy didn't look up as several other people filed into the room and sat themselves down around, all of them obviously awaiting the professor. She didn't even look up as Avery came and sat next to her, especially since she felt she had severely embarrassed herself in front of him. At one point, the boy even burst out laughing and Peggy was afraid he was laughing at her. Her shoulders rose up to the point they were almost touching her ears.

[color=39b54a][i]I hope the whole trip isn't like this,[/i][/color] Peggy thought glumly to herself, pulling her hat down slightly so it was even further over her eyes.

There sure seemed to be a lot of people getting their first Pokemon today. Were they all expected to travel in a single group, was the professor going to split them into two separate groups or was he going to pair them off? Peggy wasn't sure which was worse. Sure, big groups intimidated her, especially considering there seemed to be a lot of loud people in this group, like the girl Peggy could hear demanding Elm's assistant that she'd be given her Pokemon right then and there, but if they travelled in pairs, Peggy would be expected to make conversation, and then the whole trip would be awkward.

Just like her walk here from Cherrygrove.

Peggy grimaced slightly and could even feel her body tremble slightly at the thought. Maybe travelling in a group would be best, and, since there was safety in numbers, the larger the group the better. Plus, the larger the group, the less people would notice her and think she was being awkward.

But... what if the group was so large no one would notice if someone went missing? What if she got left behind while they were walking through a forest or something, and then it became night and she was all alone and the wild Pokemon saw her and they pounced on her and her Pokemon wouldn't obey her because she was so frightened that they were unable to respect her authority and then all the wild Pokemon attacked and they started ripping her apart-

By the time Professor Elm made his appearance, Peggy felt like bursting into tears from all this stress.

[b]"Good afternoon, young trainers!"[/b] the Professor said. [b]"Some of you know me - I see Avery there in the crowd - and some of you probably don't."[/b] Now Peggy did look at Avery. Oh yeah, he did mention he knew the Professor, didn't he? [b]"I am Professor Elm,"[/b] Elm continued. [b]"I'm the leading researcher in the field of pokemon breeding and eggs. At one point, Eggs and breeding was one of the most widely sought after skills in any pokemon trainer. Such a shame, with the aggressive pokemon that Eggs are now a bit of a rarity these days."[/b] 

The old man sighed - almost wistfully, thought Peggy - causing his assistant to tug at his lab coat. 

[b]"Hm? Oh right! Sorry!"[/b] Elm spoke again. [b]"Right, sorry, you all probably don't care about all that so much!"[/b] Peggy frowned slightly at that last bit. She couldn't speak for everyone here but she did care about the increase of aggression in Pokemon. It had bothered her ever since she had moved to Johto. Back in Orre, wild Pokemon were very rare so they had never had to worry about anything like that. Upon moving here, Peggy had been terrified when she had seen her first wild Pokemon. It had only been a Pidgey, so small that it didn't even reach Peggy's knee, but its eyes had been full of a ferocity unlike any Peggy had ever seen. Her mother had freaked out when the bird Pokemon had flown at them and they had been rushed inside. Since then, Erica had been very cautious about letting her daughter go outdoors.

[i]"It wasn't always like this,"[/i] Peggy's grandad had once said to her. [i]"When I was a trainer, most wild Pokemon would run away the moment they saw you. Only the stronger ones were brave enough to approach."[/i] He had smiled nostalgically. [i]"Me and my friend used to play a game where we would try to creep up on wild Rattatas and see how close we could get before they noticed us and fled. I once got so close I could practically touch the thing."[/i]

[i][color=39b54a]"You did?"[/color][/i] Twelve-year-old Peggy's eyes had widened at this tale.

Her grandpa had nodded proudly. [i]"And I would have too,"[/i] he said. [i]"'Til my friend pushed me and I fell face-first in the mud."[/i] He gave a small chuckle. [i]"Yes, those were the days."[/i]

[i][color=39b54a]"Why did things change, Grandad?"[/color][/i] Peggy had asked.

Her grandpa had sighed before ruffling her hair. [i]"I don't know, love,"[/i] he said sadly. [i]"No one does."[/i]

Peggy smiled fondly as she remembered her grandfather. She was sad he couldn't be here today to see her becoming a trainer, just like him. She was so caught up in her memory she didn't even hear the rest of the professor's words until he called them to follow him to the back of the lab. Peggy hastily got to her feet and followed after.

Once they got to the back, Elm motioned to a table where several Pokeballs were stood, each labelled with name of the Pokemon they contained. Peggy felt a sudden flutter of excitement inside. [b]"Alright then!"[/b] the Professor called. [b]"If you could all form a neat line here, then you can chose the pokemon you want. Chose carefully! This pokemon will likely be your partner for a long time!"[/b] 

Peggy quickly got into line, second only to a boy about her age. Said boy quickly went up for his Pokemon, grabbing the one labelled 'Swinub', and released his Pokemon, a small, furry, piggish-like creature. [color=darkkhaki]"Welcome to the team buddy!"[/color] the boy greeted his partner. The boy had looked like he knew exactly what Pokemon he had wanted, and Peggy suddenly got nervous as she stepped up and surveyed the various Pokeballs. She recognised the names Chikorita, Cyndaquil, Totodile, Eevee from some of her grandfather's stories and vaguely recalled the name 'Nidoran', though she didn't know what was the difference between the male and female. 

Urgh! Which one should she pick?! There were too many choices!

[color=39b54a][i]I shouldn't have gone second,[/i][/color] Peggy thought miserably. She should have waited behind and simply picked what was left. Sure, she might not have been happy with getting the leftovers, but it was better than this complete state of indecision.

There was only one way to decide this!

Closing her eyes, Peggy pointed at one of the random Pokeballs and began to mutter a little rhyme as she started to move her finger along the line of possible choices with each new syllable, feeling only a [i]little[/i] foolish as she did so.

[color=39b54a]"Ip dip dip,[/color] 
[color=39b54a]My little ship,[/color]
[color=39b54a]Sailing on the water,[/color] 
[color=39b54a]Like a cup and a saucer,[/color]
[color=39b54a]And you are on [i]it[/i]."[/color]

With that last word, Peggy's finger stopped and she opened her eyes, her finger now pointing at the Pokeball marked 'Houndour'. 

She had no idea what a 'Houndour' was, but she nonetheless stuck with the choice and picked up the Pokeball, somewhat nervously, before calling out the Pokemon within. A flash of red light flooded out of the Pokeball and when it cleared, a small and black dog-like Pokemon with a skull-like helmet on its head was standing before Peggy.

Peggy's widened. It was...

[color=39b54a]"Adorable!"[/color] she exclaimed, suddenly forgetting that there were other people in the room and throwing her arms around her new Pokemon. She couldn't help it, it just reminded her so much of her father's Mightyena! This sudden movement, however, startled the pup and it gave a yelp before biting down on Peggy's arm.

[color=39b54a]"Ow!"[/color] Peggy cried, her eyes watering slightly as she released the Pokemon and fell ungracefully onto her bottom. [color=39b54a]"Owwwww... why did you do that?"[/color] Peggy muttered, rubbing her wounded arm as she looked accusingly over at the Houndour.